Adjustable handle for lamp-fonts.



PATENTED AUG. 6, 1907.

G. HQ ROLFESY. ADJUSTABLE HANDLE FOR LAMP FONTS.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. 27. 1907- GEORGE H. ROLF ES.-

5 lNVENTOR.

ATTEQi JV 4 m THE NORRIS PE 0., WASHINGTON, u. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. ROLFES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO HANDLAN-BUOK MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION.

ADJUSTABLE HANDLE FOR LAMP-FONTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1907.

Application filed April 27,1907. Serial No. 370,608.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. Burns, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Handles for Lamp-Fonts, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to a shiftable handle for use upon the fonts of signal lamps and other lamps commonly employed in railway service and the invention has for its object to provide the font of a lamp of this character with a handle which is shiftably attached to the vertical wall of the font in order that the handle may be placed in an elevated position for service as a handle in introducing and removing the font from the lamp casing and be susceptible of being lowered with respect to the font for the purpose of permitting removal of the burner attached to the font where such burner is provided with a wick raising stem which is of sucha length that causes it to project beyond the vertical wall of the font.

Figure I is in part a vertical section through the easing of a lamp and in part an elevation of a lamp font within said casing provided with my shiftable handle. Fig. II is an elevation of the lamp font with my handle in raised position. Fig. III is a similar View, to Fig. II with the handle in lowered position. Fig. IV is an enlarged view partly in elevation and partly in vertical section of the lower ends of the arms of my handle and the pockets in which said arms are seated.

In the accompanying drawings, A designates the easing of a lamp which is provided with a hood or cover 13 that is adapted to be elevated to afford ingress into the casing for the introduction and removal of the oil font which is to be used in said casing. The lamp casing is of a kind commonly utilized in railway service and no invention per se is herein claimed for such casing.

O is the oil font which is equipped with a burner D provided with wick raising stem E, which is preferably extended through an opening A in the lamp casing in order that the wick of the burner D may be raised and lowered without access being first gained to the interior of the lamp casing. By reason of the wick raising stem being extended to the exterior of the lamp casing, said stem is of necessity made of a length that causes it to extend beyond the vertical wall of the oil font and inasmuch as the burner in which said stem is fitted is ordinarily provided with screw-threaded engagement with the oil font any handle that is movably attached to the oil font and extends upwardly therefrom within the lamp casing interferes with the application and removal of the burner from the font. With the fact just stated in view, I have const noted a handle which is movably attached to the font and which may normally extend upwardly to a point near the top of the lamp casing when the font is located within said casing in order that the handle may be readily grasped in removing and introducing the font, while at the same time providing for the upper end of the handle being lowered to a point beneath that occupied by the wick raising stem of the burner in order that said burner may be readily unscrewed to remove it from the font irrespective of the length of said stem.

The vertical wall of the font 0 is provided with a pocket member 1 which contains two vertically disposed apertures 2.

3 is a vertical handle comprising a pair of spring arms that are adapted to operate in the apertures of the pocket member 1 and a finger loop 4 at the upper end of said arms and by which they are united. The handle 3 is constructed of spring wire preferably in a single piece and near the lower end of each arm of the handle is a recess 5 of a length corresponding to the height of the apertures in the pocket member 1. The arms of the handle terminate at their lower ends in outturned hooks 6 which serve to limit the vertical movement of and prevent the withdrawal of the arms from the apertures in said pocket member. The linger loop 4 at the upper end of the handle is preferably bent outwardly at an angle to the vertical portion of the handle in order that the handle may be more readily grasp ed and also in order that a portion of thehood of the lamp casing may more effectually bear against said handle when the lamp is in use to hold the lamp font in a steady position within the lamp casing and prevent it rattling.

When the burner applied to the font of a lamp equipped with my improved handle is to be removed from the font and again attached thereto, the handle 3 is lowered into he position seen in Fig. III, whereby it, is placed entirely beneath the path in which the wick raising stem of the burne: moves in applying or removing the burner. Then, when the font is to be put into the lamp casing after the burner has been applied to it, the handle is drawn upwardly so that its arms travel in the apertures in the pocket member 1, until the extreme upward movementof the handle is reached and the arms spring outwardly in the apertures of the pocket member and become locked thereto due to the recesses 5 of the arms receiving the walls of the pocket member surrounding the apertures therein as seen in Fig. IV. The handle thus becomes firmly secured from move ment with respect to the oil font and the handle may serve the purpose for which it is intended until the arms of the handle are again sprung out of engagement with the walls of the pocket member and the handle is low ered as before to permit manipulation of the lamp burner.

I claim:

1. The combination, with a lamp font; of a pocket mernher having a pair of vertical apertures and attached to the vertical wall of said font, and a vertical lifting shiftable handle having a pair of spring arms movably mounted in the vertical apertures 01' said pocket member so as to permit the upper end of said handle to be lowered to a position beneath the top of the font and provided near their lower ends with side recesses receiving portions of the walls of the vertical apertures of said pocket member substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a lamp font; of a pocket member having a pair of vertical apertures and attached to the vertical wall of said font and a vertical lifting shiftable handle havin a pair of spring; arms movably mounted in the "erticnl apertures of said pocket member so as to permit the upper end of said handle to be lowered to a position beneath the top of the font, an outwardly bent finger loop connecting the upper ends o said arms and provided near their lower ends with side recesses receiving portions of the walls of the vertical apertures of said pocket member and terminating at their lower ends iirhorizontal books.

3. The combination, with a lamp easing provided with a hood or cover and a lamp font; of a vertical handle attached to the vertical wall of the font, and having an outwardly bent finger loop upon which the hood of said lamp casing impinges for steadying the lamp font Within the lamp casing and prevent. it rattling; substantially as set forth.

GEO. H. ROLFES.

In the presence of- LILY Ros'r, H. G. FLETCHER. 

